WardsAuto.com has published their annual roundup of the best engines in the industry, and this year’s trend is clearly one of efficiency and power from smaller mills.  In fact, only one V8 makes the grade this year.

VW and Audi, in particular, have a good showing here, claiming three of the 10 awards.  The 2.0L TSFI engine is a dream — so good that Audi stakes its performance name on this mill across a lot of models.  That’s saying something. 

Also from the Teutons is BMW’s 3.0L turbocharged I-6 turbodiesel, which is a torque monster that returns very respectable MPGs.  This is the engine that can turn clean diesel naysayers into fans in just shy of 6 seconds.

Ford’s EcoBoost also makes the list, as well it should: it’s the most exciting engine to come out of the Big 3 short of the ZR1’s mill.

And, naturally, Subaru’s utterly magical 2.5L turbocharged boxer (soul of the WRX and STI) makes its appearance.

So the list, in a nutshell, looks like this:

• Audi: 2.0L TFSI Turbocharged DOHC I-4
• Audi: 3.0L TFSI Supercharged DOHC V-6 
• BMW: 3.0L DOHC I-6 Turbodiesel
• Ford: 2.5L DOHC I-4 Hybrid
• Ford: 3.5L EcoBoost Turbocharged DOHC V-6 
• GM: 2.4L Ecotec DOHC I-4 
• Hyundai: 4.6L Tau DOHC V-8 
• Subaru: 2.5L Turbocharged DOHC H-4 
• Toyota: 1.8L DOHC I-4 Hybrid
• Volkswagen: 2.0L DOHC I-4 Turbodiesel

Check out the full Wards article to see the details of each selection and a video roundup.  Given that their theme was efficiency this year, they did a great job picking the gems.